


Bookstore

by f0rever15elf



Series: 2020 December Writing Challenge [14]
Category: Prospect (2018)
Genre: F/M, Food mention, alcohol mention, hallmark movie vibes, modern!ezra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:28:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29026497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/f0rever15elf/pseuds/f0rever15elf
Summary: After moving to a small town, you meet a humble book keeper named Ezra.
Relationships: Ezra (Prospect 2018)/Reader, Ezra (Prospect 2018)/You
Series: 2020 December Writing Challenge [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127273
Comments: 7
Kudos: 29





	Bookstore

When you moved to the little town up north, you had no idea how much your life would change. Hallmark movies, no matter how much you loved them, were just that; movies. No girl from the big city just moves to a small town, finds some unassuming guy there, falls in love, and lives happily ever after in time for Christmas. …Right?

~~~~~

You move in April, just on the end of the heavy freezes as Spring begins to stir. A crisp chill still hangs in the air, the mornings cold enough for a heavier coat while mid day only calls for a cardigan. It’s so different from the stagnant heat you’re used to back in Houston. It’s… refreshing.

It doesn’t take you long to settle into your new little house. The neighbors are kind, bringing by housewarming meals for you to welcome you to the neighborhood, and offering assistance if you ever need it. It’s a nice change from the neighborhood you use to live in right next to the factory.

The next step in uprooting your whole life to move to the polar opposite of your hometown is finding a job, but you have no idea where to start. So, you take your neighbor Rosie up on her offer of assistance, catching her in passing when you make your way back from the grocery store. Her eyes sparkle with what you would almost call a mischievous light as she tells you of a small book store in town, run by a rather eccentric man. She tells you he’s been talking about needing another set of hands since his dominant one has been on the decline, but she thinks what he really needs is someone to listen to him who can actually talk back, rather than the characters on the pages of the books he sells. With a chuckle, you thank her, deciding that tomorrow, you’ll head to the bookstore to learn more about this man with a proclivity for conversation.

It’s not hard to find the bookstore the next day. It’s off the main road through town, _Ezra’s Books and Bindings_ painted in golden letters over the picture windows in the front of the store. A quaint little store front. Tugging your cardigan tightly around you, you grab your purse and head in, the bells above your head tinkling softly.

“I’ll ask you for just a moment, and I’ll be right with you!” comes a honey rich drawl from the back, and you call out an acknowledgment as you start to look around the store in wonder. The walls are filled floor to ceiling with books, some new and some very, very old. The whole shop smells of old leather and parchment and soft music drifts from a speaker somewhere in the store. A single ivy hangs from the ceiling in front of the window and you feel more at home than you have in a long time. A soft smile graces your face as you look over what appear to be hand bound journals, admiring the details in the etching along the spine when that drawl comes from right behind you. “I do apologize for that. What can I do for you this fine day, my dear?”

You turn to smile at the man, taken aback for just a moment by what you see. His eyes are rich and warm, sparkling with an energetic joy and his dark hair lays flat on his head save for one blonde patch that seems to have a mind of its own above his right eye. A soft white scar centers itself on his left cheek and a peppering of stubble lines his jaw. His smile is kind and playful and you decide immediately that you like him, returning his playful smile. “Are you the owner?”

“Indeed I am. The name’s Ezra and this is my little slice of the world. And who might I have the absolute privilege of speaking to today?” He extends his hand to you and you take it, shaking it with a smile as you give him your name. “A beautiful name to suit a vision such as yourself. Tell me, gemstone, what brings you in today? What author calls your name? Thoreau? Fitzgerald? Perhaps something older, like Austen or Chaucer?” He steps away from you, wandering through his collection with you on his heel. “Ah, I know!” He snaps his fingers with a smile in your direction. “You’re a Poe fan.” He reaches up, pulling down a beautifully bound book in black leather with blood red stitching, carefully handing it to you. It’s an anthology on the poet, your favorite poet, and it’s the most beautiful binding you have ever seen of the work.

“How did you know?” you ask, amazed that after seeing you for less than five minutes he had pinned you.

“People are a lot like these books, gemstone. One just need learn how to read them.” He winks again, earning a soft chuckle from you.

“You’re clearly fluent,” you comment, carefully leafing through the book before looking back to the book keep. “I didn’t come here to buy, though. I’m here to inquire about a job. I just moved here and I’m needing to earn a little bit of income for groceries and things like that. Miss Rosie said you had mentioned an opening.”

“Oh, I’m certain that’s not all that lovely woman had to say about me,” he chuckles, taking the book back from you to return it to the shelf. “But, as it just so happens, I do seem to find myself in need of a spare set of hands.” He flashes you a lopsided grin as he strides behind his counter. He pulls out a binder, flipping through a few papers. “So when could you start?”

You start that day, Ezra showing you the lay of the land, including his book binding and leather working tools he keeps in the back for special orders and rebindings of the more tired and tattered novels he picks up or receives via donations. He talks about the texts with the same tender care one would talk about a child, and you suppose that in a way they’re like his children, him giving them a new life to continue to tell their stories. He’s a kind man with an eccentric soul, and it doesn’t take you long to fall into the rhythm of working alongside him.

Ezra talks. Lord above does Ezra talk. The number of novels you could have filled with his stories would rival the books he currently has on his shelves, but you never tire of it, finding yourself excited to go to work each morning to hear more of his fantastic tales, and you can’t remember being this excited to work before in _ages_. With each passing day, the memories of city life slip further and further away.

Come Fall, you dare to call Ezra your friend rather than just your jovial boss. He takes days off to show you around town, taking you to his favorite restaurants and little coffee shops. The whole town knows him, how could they not? And it brings a smile to your face with how faces light up when they see the eccentric book binder. You’re comfortable with Ezra in all the time you spend with him, and it sneaks up on you the way you find yourself watching him as he works or admiring him as he talks with customers. It sneaks up on you how happy you feel when he takes your hand in his when he leads you around the town or how at night when you lay alone in your bed you find yourself thinking of him. It sneaks up on you how you find yourself… falling in love with him.

Fall eventually turns to Winter, and the holidays approach with alarming speed. You help Ezra decorate the shop, stringing lights and ornaments and garlands around the building. It’s cozy and festive and you love the way the icicle lights enhance Ezra’s natural glow. It does nothing to help the fact that you are near constantly staring at him; at his back as he works or his eyes and lips as he talks to you. So entranced are you in your observation that you miss his question, blinking in surprise at his bemused face.

“I’m… sorry. Could you repeat that?” Your cheeks grow hot in embarrassment, but Ezra only chuckles, leaning across the counter to get closer to you.

“I asked if you have any plans for the holidays, gemstone.”

“Oh.” Your shoulders fall and a sad smile adorns your lips. “No. I have nowhere to go. I figured I’d make an apple pie and eat the whole thing while I sit in front of my fire with a bottle of wine and a few books.” Ezra tilts his head as he watches you for a moment before nodding, pushing off the counter to go back to work. Suddenly, work feels much less cozy.

The last day of work before the holidays, you’re helping Ezra to close up shop, rummaging under the counter when he clears his throat. You very nearly bang your head on the counter as you stand up, looking up to see him standing with a small wrapped gift in his hands. “I want to inquire something of you, and to give you this.” He hands the beautifully wrapped present over to you with what almost seems like a nervous smile.

“What is it?”

“If I told you, it ruins the surprise of seeing you open it,” he retorts with a grin. You tilt your head and nod, smiling as you tear into the paper. It falls away to reveal that book he handed you the first day you walked through his threshold. A black and red leather bound copy of Edgar Allen Poe’s Anthology. “Open it up,” he encourages with an excited smile, and you do, finding an elegantly pinned dedication etched into the leather of the cover. It’s a poem of you; of your grace, your beauty, you wonder… and it is signed ‘Ezra’. Your eyes water as you look up to him, holding the book to your chest.

“Ez…. Ez, this means more to me than you could ever possibly imagine. Thank you so much.” You fight to keep the tears from spilling over as he comes around the counter to stand in front of you unimpeded. He smiles down at you with such a sweet and tender gaze, carefully brushing your hair behind your ear. You tilt your head up just enough to look him in the eyes and that’s when you realize what’s hanging above you. A bundle of mistletoe that you don’t remember hanging. Your eyes widen in surprise and the grin on Ezra’s face widens as his hand gently cups your cheek, all while your heart hammers in your chest.

“Will you grace me with your presence for the holidays, gemstone? I can think of no one I would rather spend this holiday nor any other with, than you.” His eyes flicker to your lips before returning to your eyes and when you reply, it’s barely a breath.

“Yes, Ezra.” The two words are heavy, the implication doubled, and all tension melts from the book binder’s shoulders as he closes the gap between your lips in a gentle kiss. Your heart races with excitement as your eyes slip closed, savoring the feeling of his lips on your own as what you’ve been silently hoping for for weeks finally comes to fruition. Here you are, a big city girl who picked up her life to move to a small town, standing with her unassuming guy after falling in love just in time for Christmas. Maybe there’s some truth to those Hallmark movies after all. 


End file.
